Türkiye: Food and transportation prices raise annual inflation to 62% in November

Official data showed, on Monday, that the annual consumer price inflation rate in Turkey rose to 61.98% last November, driven by a rise in food and transportation prices, which is slightly lower than expectations.

According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute, inflation reached 3.28% on a monthly basis.

A poll conducted by Reuters expected the annual inflation rate to rise to 63% last November, ending the year at 67%.

Last October, annual inflation fell for the first time in three months to 61.36%.

Inflation rose after the lira crisis at the end of 2021 and touched its highest levels in 24 years at 85.51% in October last year. This year, the lira lost about 35% of its value, and the dollar rose in Monday’s trading to 28.92 liras.

The data showed that the domestic producer price index rose by 2.81% on a monthly basis in November, recording an annual increase of 42.25%.

The Turkish economy grew by 5.9% in the third quarter of this year, exceeding expectations, driven by household spending, but activity is expected to slow by the end of the year after monetary tightening calmed demand.

On Thursday, Standard & Poor’s credit rating agency confirmed Turkey’s credit rating at “B” while raising its future outlook from “stable” to “positive.”

Data from the Turkish Ministry of Commerce also showed, the day before yesterday, Saturday, that the country’s trade deficit shrank by 32.6% on an annual basis to $5.92 billion in November.

Trade Minister Omar Bolat said that exports rose 5.2% to $23.01 billion in November, while imports fell 5.6% to $28.93 billion.

The Turkish Central Bank’s total reserves rose by $2.25 billion in November, reaching $136.5 billion, the highest level ever.

(Reuters, Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed)